Why value investing has left Aberdeen in the doldrums

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Martin Gilbert has run Aberdeen since 1983Credit:
Simon Dawson/Bloomberg

Aberdeen Asset Management’s hard luck story now has a familiar ring to it. Pre-tax profits fell by 47pc to £98.8m in the first half of its financial year compared with the same period a year ago. Clients pulled out their money faster than the fund manager could refill the bucket with new business.

This led to outflows of £16.7bn – even faster than the £11.3bn drop in the first half of last year. Assets under management have now fallen from £324bn in September 2014 to £292.8bn.

And the reason remains the same. Investors are concerned that the go-go years in emerging markets, to which Aberdeen is predominately exposed, are over. China’s stuttering growth and worries about the knock-on effect of...